A Turnaround in Life

By Zheng Jin-man (鄭金滿)
Abridged and translated by Eddie Huang (黃永平)
                                                 Nick Chen (陳鼎棋)

A Turnaround in Life

By Zheng Jin-man (鄭金滿)
Abridged and translated by
Eddie Huang (黃永平)
Nick Chen (陳鼎棋)

After getting married, Fu Xiu-hua (傅秀華) and her husband, Gong Shi-chang (龔世昌), started a business together, and everything seemed to be going well until a traffic accident marked the beginning of a series of disasters…

Not only did Fu suffer a femur fracture due to the accident, which forced her into an extended period of bed rest, but it was also during this time that she discovered her husband was having an affair. To add insult to injury, he divorced her upon her recovery, inflicting even more emotional pain.

Amidst these crises, Fu stumbled upon a Da Ai Drama on TV, which resonated deeply with her own experiences. What touched her the most was the portrayal of characters turning their lives around as Tzu Chi volunteers. This ignited a glimmer of hope in Fu, inspiring her to believe in the possibility of a brighter future.

After the divorce, Fu's ex-husband retained full ownership of their business. But when the company faced financial difficulties, he turned to Fu for help, borrowing millions of dollars from her. She thus proposed regaining ownership, unaware that the company had accrued tens of millions of dollars in debt by that time. When she found out, she considered letting the company go under, but concern that workers may have dependents prompted her to take responsibility.

Therefore, she reached out to creditors, promising to repay the debts and requesting extensions, which they granted due to her sincerity. With the support of her family and employees, she managed to turn the company around and repay all the debts within three years. "I often had to cram two days' worth of work into one, constantly juggling matters with suppliers, creditors, and employees. The pressure was so overwhelming that I had to rely on sleeping pills just to get some rest," Fu recalled.

But just when Fu thought everything was in the rearview mirror, she learned from her son that her ex-husband, now remarried, had fallen ill in China and needed to return to Taiwan for medical care. Unable to bear seeing her son distressed, Fu ensured her ex-husband received care at a prestigious hospital using her connections.

"Rather than perpetuating the cycle of revenge, it's better to form a positive relationship. Even though we're not together anymore, we can still be fellow volunteers looking out for each other," Fu said. Perhaps it was her forgiving attitude, or maybe her notable shift in demeanor that touched her husband's heart and got him to start engaging in Tzu Chi activities and training. In 2013, both Fu and her ex-husband became certified Tzu Chi commissioners.

Despite being betrayed, Fu chose to forgive. If her life were a boat, it would wield the strength of a ship, steering through challenges with resilience.